WUNRN
CHINA - PARENTS SAY BABIES WERE
STOLEN FOR ADOPTION
"The
conventional wisdom is that the babies, mostly girls, were
abandoned by their parents because of the traditional preference for boys and
China's restrictions on family size. No doubt, that was the case for tens of
thousands of Chinese children. But some parents are beginning to come
forward to tell harrowing stories of babies who were taken away by coercion,
fraud or kidnapping -- sometimes by government officials who covered their
tracks by pretending that the babies had been abandoned."
___________________________________________________________
CHINA TIGHTENS ADOPTION RULES TO FIGHT CHILD TRAFFICKING
- GIRLS
Only recognised
orphanages in
The Chinese
government is tightening adoption rules to combat child trafficking, according
to state media. Photograph: Yan Yan/ Yan Yan/XinHua/Xinhua Press/Corbis
The Chinese
government is tightening adoption rules to combat child trafficking, state
media reported, a day after eight people convicted of abducting or murdering children received sentences
including the death penalty.
Only
orphanages will be able to offer abandoned infants and children for adoption,
and adults who adopt without official registration will not be recognised as
legal guardians, the China Daily reported.
Forcing people to go through
official adoption channels will reduce the demand for abducted children, Ji
Gang, the director of the domestic adoption department of the China Centre for
Children's Welfare and Adoption, was quoted as saying by the China Daily. The
rules being drawn up are due to be introduced by the end of the year.
Authorities in northwestern
On Monday, eight people were
sentenced in five cases, including a father who sold his 12-year-old daughter
twice to pickpocket gangs and two child traffickers who beat a boy into a coma
and then threw him into a river.
In one case, a ring headed by
Umair Tohti coaxed young children in Xinjiang into working as migrant labourers
in
On 9 November 2009, Tohti and two
others, Tudi Daman and Memet Ahmat, beat a young boy who had attempted to flee
into a coma and threw him into a river, where he drowned, Xinhua said.
Tohti was sentenced to death, and
In another case, Arken Wusiman
sold his 12-year-old daughter in April 2009 to criminals who trained her as a
pickpocket. After the girl was rescued and sent back home, Wusiman sold her again
to another pickpocketing gang in January this year. He also sent two other
abducted children to work as pickpockets, Xinhua said, citing the Markit county
people's court.
He was sentenced to nine years in
prison and fined 5,000 yuan (£470).
In the three other cases, four
people were convicted of child trafficking and sentenced to jail terms ranging
from two and a half years to 11 years.
Xinhua said authorities in
Xinjiang have sent police who speak Mandarin and Uighur to other provinces to
assist in the crackdown on child trafficking.
Xinhua said that since April
police had rescued more than 500 abducted Xinjiang children, broken up 90
criminal rings and detained 464 suspects.
The region's Communist Party
chief, Zhang Chunxian, said in April that rescued the children will be returned
home and placed in government-run shelters that provide schooling and a safe
environment, according to Xinhua.